This is not about baseball glory. This isn't about making millions of dollars playing the game you love. This is about some guys who got the call up aThis is not about baseball glory. This isn't about making millions of dollars playing the game you love. This is about some guys who got the call up a few times, or who spent the last part of their career in the Minors. Not everyone is cut out for the minors. It isn't easy on some guys because once they get the call up it is hard to be back working for a call up. I had a tie-in with the book because he talks to Norfolk Tides manager for a good portion of the book and they are our local baseball team. By listening to this book I will now have a new respect for the players on the field. I used to view guys in AAA as not good enough to make it to the pro's, but AAA is still better than most people in the world. Some veterans are there because they still love the game, and feel they can help some of the young guys develop. Some are there because they still have some good stuff but just not Major League material every day. Some guys are bitter they get sent back down. This book does not go in depth on them. ...more
I really enjoyed Laver's writing style. He gave the drudgery of military marching life and vigor. This book touches on Grant's early years in the miliI really enjoyed Laver's writing style. He gave the drudgery of military marching life and vigor. This book touches on Grant's early years in the military, from graduating in the bottom half of his class at West Point to his early days in the military. Grant often got bored and wanted to continue to push forward. Once the Civil War started grant was pulled back into military service. As he lead troops he often learned from his failures. Which he had many of them. But each new battle brought new challenges and as he got promoted up the rants Lincoln took a liking to him because he was constantly pushing to snuff out the Confederate resistance. ...more
A quick overview of the Pawnee's. This gives you a glimpse into the strong tribe, their values, their culture, and talks of when they did have a war tA quick overview of the Pawnee's. This gives you a glimpse into the strong tribe, their values, their culture, and talks of when they did have a war they were fierce yet defeated. The Pawnee language is almost extinct. This short book gives you a lot of details and it is a nice quick read. ...more
Lots of scripture. One thing this book does that not all books on scripture does, is when he references a verse he quotes the scripture. Through this Lots of scripture. One thing this book does that not all books on scripture does, is when he references a verse he quotes the scripture. Through this book, Halbeck runs many parables and then backs up his understanding of them with other verses. This book is short and good for anyone whether you are a bible scholar or just starting to read the bible. ...more
What are women good for? They should be wives and mothers and their pay in Britain was held down so they would rely on a husband. This book could for What are women good for? They should be wives and mothers and their pay in Britain was held down so they would rely on a husband. This book could for some be viewed as dry. But the problem is this was a huge problem and required lots of explanation. The women not only programmed the computing machines but also repaired them. Then they were forced to train the men who would be their managers. This was a pathetic system that shows how men do not always know best. ...more
Wow, I am not sure where to start on this review. This story reminded me of Jenna Hill's book Beyond Belief. The whole time I had to keep reminding mWow, I am not sure where to start on this review. This story reminded me of Jenna Hill's book Beyond Belief. The whole time I had to keep reminding myself that Westover is only a few years younger than me. She grew up in a small town in Idaho with a Mormon family. Westover's dad was a conspiracy theorist and didn't trust the government, doctors, or really anyone but himself. His wife was an herbalist and they homeschooled their children. Westover was cut off from the world. Homeschooling was more or less just looking at a book, her science book was that was for small children. Her older brother Tyler helped her find a love in music. When he left for college her life was never quite the same. But she found she could sing and started singing and then performing. One problem was her dad was a zealot. So when she had to wear a dress she was then labeled a whore. She also had a tumultuous relationship with her brother Sean who was given to violent fits of rage. Sean also loves to dominate. He treats a young girl who likes him with utter indifference as he makes her go get him candy bars. Tara sees this and understand.
As Tara goes away to college which is something her father disapproves of because colleges are organized by socialist who turn women into whores. Tara finds out quickly how much she does not know. Having a father who did not teach her about the world but about his form of domination through religion, and how to prepare for end times Tara has so much to learn. Not knowing basic things like the Holocaust and how to actually prepare for a test college does not come easy.
Tara finds the line between this new world and the world of her family turning into a wall. She wants to still connect with her family who she loves dearly but wants them to come to her understanding of the world. As she confronts her family they push her away. This story is at times heartbreaking, unbelievable, and eye-opening all at the same time. If a third of what is discussed in this memoir is true, most of us have had a very normal easy life and really need to stop complaining so much. ...more
Written in 2008 when the economy was crashing, oil prices we skyrocketing, Gingrich wrote this book on his view on how we could get immediate relief aWritten in 2008 when the economy was crashing, oil prices we skyrocketing, Gingrich wrote this book on his view on how we could get immediate relief at the pumps. His idea was Drill Here and Drill Now. Gingrich talks of how the liberals were ruining the economy because they force higher standards on companies for cleaner fuel and companies make less money. Also with higher environmental standards that the US tries to uphold, the rest of the world doesn't do it. So why is the US really trying to do the "right" thing when no one else is.
Gingrich spent some time talking about the political elites that are out of touch with the American public. He discusses how the policies that were holding back drilling in 2008 were a decades-old (some were put in during his time in Congress) Gingrich this the environmental hoops that companies are put through and all the bureaucratic red tape is too much. The time it takes to do the environmental study, get the proper permits, get approval to build, and the time to take to build can take a decade or more.
To me people are normally in 1 of 3 camps:
Either you trust companies to look out for the consumer and the environment (Gingrich seems to) You trust the government to look out for the consumer and the environment you don't trust either and try your best to look out for yourself and the environment. Gingrich is appalled that politicians would have the audacity to talk about how much energy the average American consumer uses. He doesn't feel that it is the government's place to step in and tell companies to make more energy efficient products, or tell the consumer to monitor their usages and try to cut back. Since I fall into the 3rd camp, I try little things on my own, which does not help the overall world but helps my wallet. I drive a fuel-efficient car (38mpg) and I also cut off lights, and have a programmable thermostat. These are all less about the overall environment, and more because I am frugal.
I struggled reading this book because of hindsight bias. Some of his ideas, I know how they will work out, some like fracking, he doesn't know yet the number of earthquakes that will happen in the surrounding areas. He also discusses how little offshore drilling will spill, because Deepwater Horizon has not happened yet. Gingrich discusses how we need to issue more H-1B visas because we need the best engineers and scientist over here working on our energy. Also discussed was solar, wind, and electric cars. He believes we need to subsidize these industries. Giving massive tax breaks and handouts to the most productive. Where I currently live we had an influx of multiple large solar farms and thousands of acres of wind turbines. The county has just put a moratorium on future development because with the land going from a farm tax rate to not tax at all the county is losing tons of money. And whoever states that it brings tons of jobs to the area is lying. there is an initial influx of workers needed to construct the solar panels, but once up, everyone is let go. So it only increases workers for a season.
One other thing the Gingrich kept bringing up is clean coal. We need more coal factories which everything I have read coal is not clean. Now his other power plant idea is nuclear stating how parts of Europe has embraced nuclear and how we got scared after a couple of meltdowns and now have shunned away from it. He thinks we need to take a long hard look again because it would provide a massive amount of energy at a portion of the current cost and how unless it melts down that the overall pollution is less than coal or gas.
In 2008 to relieve the American public Gingrich thought we should remove the ban for offshore drilling, and allowing the Alaskan terrain to be tapped also. The problem with both of these, and really wind and solar, most American's want the help and reduced expense of energy, but most suffer from NIMBY (not in my backyard). So being a decade after this energy crisis, we have more electric cars but are still mostly fueled by oil. It is a shame how little advances have been made to make our nation more energy independent. ...more
This book discusses a little of how the west was won. Well not really won, but reformed. Wyatt Earp was the best known of the Earp brothers. One thThis book discusses a little of how the west was won. Well not really won, but reformed. Wyatt Earp was the best known of the Earp brothers. One thing about the Earp clan they were highly loyal, and always brave. Wyatt and Bat were good friends, great gamblers, and tough lawmen. The one thing about the lawmen of the west, they had to keep their cool, not back down, and when push came to shove be better with a 6 shooter than the bad guys. Earp was known for bullying cowboys who caused problems and would throw just about anyone in jail if they got on his nerves to bad. Doc Holliday also makes an appearance in this book because he was one of Wyatt's close friends. Doc and Bat never really cared for each other but both were close to Wyatt. This book centralizes around Dodge City, but Clavin does a good job giving you a feel oh what life was like and how marshall's and cowboys often got into squabbles. ...more
I was unfamiliar with the Korean war going into this book. So when some of the same names that were heavy hitters in WWII came up I was surprised. II was unfamiliar with the Korean war going into this book. So when some of the same names that were heavy hitters in WWII came up I was surprised. I did not realize that Gen Douglass MacArthur was in Tokyo telling the Marines to push to end this skirmish quickly. This would have worked if the Chinese added some 300,000 troops to the fight. The Marines got trapped at Chosin Reservoir.
MacArthur thought even when reports were coming in that they must be wrong. Once MacArthur was quoted saying "Only God or the Government of the United States can keep me from the fulfillment of my mission." because he was forced to meet with President Truman. But Macarthur spent too much time in Toyko to really know what was going on in Korea.
A Chinese office had told his men that the Marines were "uniquely diabolical- bloodthirsty murders and rapist". This must have made it easier for the Chinese soldiers to attack. And attack they did. Luckily when Major Gen. Smith knew things were turning out bad, he helped rally his troops. If it wasn't the thousands of Chinese attacking, the sub-zero temperatures were making everything more difficult. The men struggled to stay warm, maybe would have fingers and toes amputated once they reach the evacuation point. Guns would jam and planes could only fly during certain times of the day.
The Marines were severely outnumbered but some of the final death tolls showed the Chinese forces had 30,000 dead, 12,500 wounded and the Marines had only lost about 750 men, with around 3000 wounded. The Marines had to stop their push that MacArthur and Almond wanted and had to do a fighting retreat. Some called it an attack in the other direction because it was not the typical retreat. The Marines fought every step of the way. They inflicted massive casualties and had to get creative with a makeshift airfield, and a less than ideal bridge project.
This book covers the can-do attitude of the US military and how even in a foreign land, with orders they do not fully understand, they will fight, innovate, and do whatever it takes to come out on top. ...more
To be fair I knew where this book was going. I knew what it was going to be all about because I watched the PBS special LINK . The special was good bTo be fair I knew where this book was going. I knew what it was going to be all about because I watched the PBS special LINK . The special was good but the show couldn't pack in all the details you find in the book.
Pollan has a few simple rules for healthy eating:
Eat Real Food, just not a lot of it If your grandmother would not recognize it, don't eat it Eat things in season, hit up your local farmers market Now on the humorous side, This book is read by Scott Brick. Probably 20+ books I have read over the years have been narrated by him. He does a great job with keeping things intense. The problem was with him reading me a book about health, I just knew I was dying LIKE RIGHT NOW.
Looking at our US Western diet, there are things in the processing of food that disconnects us from what our ancestors ate. Bread is not just water, yeast, flour and salt anymore. Now there may be up to 20 or 30 ingredients. And its profitable because taking out some of the natural aspects of food and finding a new process it makes the foot keep longer, which means companies do not lose as much money with food spoiling. The problem is this Western diet has started making some health issues that in years past were not quite as prevalent as they are today. Pollan discusses that since science has an understand of what makes up most of our food, they push nutrients more than the actual food itself.
Pollan does not claim to have some new idea, or that he has a scientific breakthrough to great health. He is more looking at how in the past 100 years food has changed so much, so quickly, that we have not evolved enough to compensate for them yet. He discusses how Type-2 diabetes is pretty preventable and even has been reversed with a change in eating and exercise. But because our western diet is so ingrained in our life it is easier to now treating the diabetes and let people going on eating what they already know and love. ...more
I know Scarborough has been around for some time. I know he has a TV show. But I have never watched it and was unfamiliar with him prior to this booI know Scarborough has been around for some time. I know he has a TV show. But I have never watched it and was unfamiliar with him prior to this book. The majority of this book is talking about fiscal conservatism. Scarborough thought that Obama spent recklessly and stupidly. Scarborough was against all the bailout plans. He believed that if businesses failed it is not the Federal Government that should bail them out. Taxpayers should not be paying to keep businesses running.
Scarborough also discusses Bush 43. At times Scarborough was talking out both sides of his mouth. He would at one point say he supported the war and Bush lead greatly. And then in the next chapter talked about how badly the Bush administration was handling the war and how much it was costing us.
Scarborough all throughout the book does not try to say that he is the genius behind all his ideas. He discusses many of the people he has read and followed to come up with his ideas. Scarborough believes conservatives should be environmentalist. Because if people who are known for conserving don't care to conserve the environment then what are they really doing? He also discusses at length how when he was in Congress as a young man they had a surplus in the budget. But Bush 43 took the surplus and created a deficit.
Scarborough who has an easy tone and sensible delivery discusses how Conservatives have seemed to have lost their way, and no longer look to conserve, and how it is their job to stop the liberals from giving away to many entitlements. ...more
If you like Ellen you will like this book, if you do not like Ellen, then you probably will not enjoy this book at all. This is part memoir, part lifIf you like Ellen you will like this book, if you do not like Ellen, then you probably will not enjoy this book at all. This is part memoir, part life observation, and party comedy. Ellen reads the book herself, which gives it that personal touch that I enjoy from Author read audiobooks. Every other sentence is a joke, and every sentence in between is a set up for the joke. Well not exactly. Some of this book was silly trying too hard to be funny moments. Other times were Ellen's observations on life and trying to find the fun that exists. Ellen is someone who talks openly about life, she tries to always be positive, and really presents herself as someone who enjoys all aspects of life. She talks about how she is trying to stay healthy, and active. She talks about her talk show. And since this was an audiobook she read, she talks about talking........more
Every time he emphasizes an idea it is called Savage solutions- I am guessing that was one of his taglines from his radio show.
The first portion of thEvery time he emphasizes an idea it is called Savage solutions- I am guessing that was one of his taglines from his radio show.
The first portion of the book was about Muslim extremist. He references Gen. Patton "There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time." He thinks that President Bush should have bombed everything and then killed anyone who was left.
After the proposal to kill all the Muslim to save America, Savage then it goes into illegal immigrants who also are ruining America. Written in 2005 Savage discusses how many people were pouring in over our southern border. In my reading in 2018, this is still a hot point. Savage who is a child of immigrants knows how hard it is to come over legally. He sees this as a huge problem that we allow immigrants in to take low wage earning jobs. He states how the poor blacks and the poor whites (like in grapes of wrath) harvest vegetables and that is who should be doing it.
This was an interesting read because he would talk about how the "Stupid" liberal are sissifying the world. But then he would talk about how stupid you "the reader" is and how you didn't pay attention like he has. It was interesting to be insulted by the author. I was not used to that tactic. Multiple times he tells the reader how much they didn't pay attention in school and how gullible we were for being liberals. Normally books like this are written to point out what the other side is doing and not even thinking that people from the other side may be reading this book.
Savage says we should have a 0% corporate tax. He believes that if companies do not have to pay taxes, they will be more likely to keep their businesses in the US. He also admits that that budget would take a huge monetary hit initially but states that eventually companies will pass down the money to the workers and that money will be taxed more thus equaling out the budget.
America seems to have a blind spot as far as dictators are concerned. Savage was discussing Yasser Arafat. But this could really be taken further. We do allow a Dictator to get away with more than normal leaders. Speaking of the Left Savage says they do not want dialogue they want dominion. But really in 2018 neither side of the political aisle seems to want dialogue. They both only want to push their agenda.
So my advice is read things by people you don’t always agree with. Try to see where they are coming from. Sometimes you will learn to hash out and refine your own ideas, sometimes you will see things from a different point of view. As Savage says don’t become Sheeple. Constantly read to find out what all sides are all about. ...more
Throughout this book Moon discusses politics. Not just if his side is right and the other side is wrong. but discusses the hard questions of what it tThroughout this book Moon discusses politics. Not just if his side is right and the other side is wrong. but discusses the hard questions of what it takes to makes a lasting government. Moon discusses things such as healthcare and how it is becoming overly expensive to have let alone need health care. He talks of how Medicare Medicaid and the ACA are a huge burden to taxpayers and how money is having to be borrowed on the backs of Millennials to fund all of this. Also discusses is climate change. "The rhetoric claiming that reducing greenhouse gases is detrimental to job creation and economic growth in the united states negates the fact that there will be no jobs if there is no planet." Moon holds no punches. He goes after the Republic Party for passing the tax bill in 2017 which raises the deficit which millennials will have to deal with. He also discusses the ACA and how it was noble to try to get everyone affordable healthcare that the bill did not discuss things such as medical payments and doctors visits. Most people could afford some kind of health care plan, it was the services that were too expensive. One other point he makes is how both parties seem to be only looking out for themselves and not the good of the country in the future. They want to make sure they can get rich now, or that their retirement will be funded. They are not looking for ways to reduce spending, shrink the deficit, or even work on national issues that most people really care about. Moon also discusses how there are more people feeling independent than on the right or left, but the current establishment does not really allow for a third party to enter the mix. He discusses how Bernie Sanders is independent but has to run as a Democrat because there is no other option. ...more
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